Minnesota Sports Rant

I'll start with the manic, bi-polar Timberwolves who continue to confuse fans by playing extremely well for a stretch and then follow it with some of crappiest basketball I've ever seen. Tonight they ripped apart the Seattle Supersonics and looked unbeatable...despite the win I hope, but realize there is little chance that Kevin McHale will be able to pull the trigger on the Ron Artest trade.

The Vikings season is over for all intensive purposes, with a meaningless game against the Bears left to go on Sunday. The big question is whether Tice will be back and personally I think he and Steve Loney should be sent packing. I'm one who would love to see Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz hired.

The Twins might as well shut 'er down at 34 Kirby Puckett Place, because as the conclusion of the Hot Stove League nears it appears the Twins have no chance of competing in the Central Division in 2006. The White Sox got better and the best Terry Ryan could do was sign Rondell White. Rondell White?

Gay Cowboys Good, But Not Oscar Worthy

I saw Brokeback Mountain tonight and I thought it was a good movie, not a great movie. Personally I thought the movie North Country was more oscar worthy. Brokeback is definitely worth seeing though. After seeing Brokeback in the theatre I watched the movie Crash at home and thought it to be an excellent film with a great cast.

Redick or Morrison?

A debate seems to be popping up already in late December about a possible player of the year battle between Duke's J.J. Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. I think they are both worthy of the POY talk and it should be interesting to see how it plays out in March. Right now I would give Redick the edge as Duke is still undefeated. As the season progresses, you would think Redick's edge would grow as Duke's ACC schedule is much more difficult than Gonzaga's mid-major conference schedule. If I was an NBA GM however, I think I would take Morrison ahead of Redick.

The Yankees Continue To Ruin Baseball

Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees today as Steinbrenner gave the center fielder $52 million over four years. This gives the Yankees a projected starting line-up of Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, Matsui, Williams, Posada and Cano.

As a fan of the Minnesota Twins I've been begging general manager Terry Ryan to sign a big-named free agent, but why? Why even bother at this point. The Twins could sign three sluggers and they will never be able to compete with the team the Yankees have put together.

Until a salary cap is put in place, baseball is unwatchable in my opinion. It is a ruined game and the evil empire in New York is the number one reason why.

O'Reilly Spinning About Brokeback Mountain

Talk show host Bill O'Reilly opined that liberal newspapers are using the movie brokeback mountain to further the gay cause. Hmmmm that sounds rather familiar. Kind of like how republicans irresponsibly use religion to further the conservative agenda. O'Reilly also tried to claim that the movie isn't doing well at the box office, however, it gained more money per theatre that it was showing at than King Kong.

Fred Smoot and His Double-Headed Dildo

Charges were filed today against Viking players Daunte Culpepper, Moe Williams, Fred Smoot and Bryant McKinnie stemming from the sex boat scandal on Lake Minnetonka. The charges detail Culpepper receiving a lap-dance and slapping the bare buttocks of a naked female, Williams receiving a lap-dance and grabbing a breast, McKinnie performing and receiving oral sex and my personal favorite - Fred Smoot manipulating a double-headed dildo into the vaginas of two naked females.

What's most shocking about the charges is that Smoot was actually close enough to another human being in order to maneuver the dildo. His play on the field would signal that he doesn't like human contact.

Live Webcast

Listen to me broadcast the play by play of the St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus women's basketball game tonight live from St. Peter. Click here around 5:40 to hear the broadcast.

Last Second Philosophies

In the last two days, two college basketball teams have been stung by last second shots because of their last second defensive philosophies. With 1.6 seconds remaining, Duke was able to knock off Virginia Tech with a last second heave from near half court, because the Hokies failed to contest the shot by Duke's Sean Dockery.

Just yesterday the Minnesota Gophers were forced to go to overtime against Arizona State because they let Sun Devils guard Kevin Krueger dribble all the way down the court in four seconds and bank in a game-tying three pointer at the buzzer. Gopher guard Adam Boone decided to play absolutely no defense in fear of fouling the player on his last second three point shot.

While you definitely don't want to foul a player in a situation like that, you can't simply back off and play no defense like Virginia Tech and Minnesota did. You can still contest a shot without worrying about picking up a cheap foul.

Showdown In St. Peter

The top two teams in the MIAC will face each other Wednesday night in St. Peter as St. Thomas travels to Gustavus Adolphus. The two teams split their two regular season match-ups last year and then the Gusties prevailed in the MIAC playoffs to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If you've never seen a Division III basketball game, this is the one you want to check out. Game time is 8pm.

More Intelligent Design Discussion

The Star Tribune is reporting that the Minnetonka school district is thinking about some changes in its science curriculum. It appears that the issue of intelligent design is one that is here to stay for awhile in our public schools. Two words: Sunday School!